History of Chemistry in Ancient and Medieval India, Incorporating the History of Hindu Chemistry by Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray c39.s4: Bhutas And Paramanus—Cosmogenesis And Its Successive Stages
History of Chemistry in Ancient and Medieval India, Incorporating the History of Hindu Chemistry by Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray c39.s4
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Bhutas And Paramanus—Cosmogenesis And Its Successive Stages
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The five *bhutas* stand for a classification of substances on the basis of their generic properties resulting, as the Samkhyas hold, from the structural type of their constituent atoms—a classification more physical than chemical, or properly speaking chemico-physical, unlike the purely chemical classification of the so-called elements of modern chemistry. A *paramanu*, again, is a type of atom corresponding to each *bhuta* class, and indeed one and the same kind of *paramanu* may comprehend atoms of different masses, if only these would agree in their structural type
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*Cosmogenesis*—(a bird's-eye view) —Out of the all pervasive rudiment-matter (*bhutadi*) appeared *akasa* (ether), first as a *tanmatra* (subtile matter) charged with the potential energy of sound (vibration-potential), and then as an atomic integration of a *mono-tanmatric* structure (the *akasa*-atom), also ubiquitous and all-enveloping. In the next stage we find a new kind of *tanmatras*, systems of the infra-atomic vibratory particles, so arranged as to manifest a new form of energy, that of impact or mechanical pressure, and these tanmatras combining with the vibration-potentials (*akasa tanmatra*) produced a new kind of atom, the *di-tanmatric vayu* atom, which by aggregation formed a gaseous Envelope composed of impinging (driving) vibratory particles (*vayu*). Next appeared the third class of *tanmatras*, infra atomic systems of the impinging vibratory particles, which by their collocation developed a new form of Energy—the Energy of radiant heat-and-light. These *tanmatras*, combining with the potentials (*tanmatras*) of vibration and impact, produced a new kind of atom—the *tri-tanmatric tejas* atom, the light-and-heat-corpuscle, which by aggregation enveloped the gaseous world in huge flames In the next stage we have the fourth class of *tanmatras*, new and complex infra-atomic systems of the radiant impinging vibratory particles, which evolved the Energy of viscous attraction as well as the potential Energy concerned in the taste-stimulus. These *tanmatras*, combining with the three previous ones, gave rise to another class of atoms, the *tetra-tanmatric ap*-atom, and the flaming gases were thus precipitated into cosmic masses of viscous fluid matters (*ap*). Finally appeared the fifth class of *tanmatras*, infra-atomic systems of the viscous radiant impinging vibratory particles, which developed new forms of Energy—the Energy of cohesive attraction, as well as the potential Energy concerned in the stimulus of smell. These *tanmatras*, uniting with the other four kinds of infra-atomic subtile particles, formed another class of atoms, the *penta-tanmatric kshiti*-atom. Thus the viscous fluid matter were condensed and transformed into the earth-*bhuta*, comprising the majority of the so-called elements of chemistry.
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*Examples of the different Bhutas*•
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1 *Akasa* :—This is ubiquitous.
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2 *Vayu*:—Various substances composed of *di-tanmatric* atoms,—kinds of *vayu*—must have been formed in the gaseous envelope in the second stage of cosmic evolution out of the proto-atoms of *akasa*. But they have either suffered a fresh transformation into substances of a more complex atomic structure, or have dissipitated into the *mono-tanmatric akasa*, out of which they took their rise. The one familiar example now surviving is atmospheric air. Water vapour is but water (*ap* ;) and smoke, fumes, etc. are but earth-particles in gaseous diffusion.
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3. *Tejas*:—Various classes of *tejas* corpuscles,—substances with *tri-tanmatric* atomic structure, i.e., two grades subtler than the ordinary elements of chemistry (which are of a *penta-tanmatric* structure),—are even now known.
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First there is fire or the light-and-heat emitted by the burning log of wood or lamp. Now it is important to note that the flame of a burning log of wood or of an oil lamp is not pure *tejas*, a pure mass of light-and-heat-corpuscles. There is chemical union with earth-particles (particles of the hard *penta-tanmatric* substance) acted on by Energy; and then the *tejas* corpuscles, light-and-heat-particles which are latent (absorbed) therein, come forth as flame. Then there is the light of the sun and the stars, which are flaming masses of molten viscous matters or of molten earthy matters There is also the lightning, which liberates a kind of *tejas* latent in the aqueous particles and vapours, under the action of Energy, in the same way as an ordinary fire liberates the *tejas* latent in the wood or other fuel. Next, there are the stores of animal heat derived from the break-up of the nutritive material. Lastly there comes the peculiar form of the *tejas* Energy (radiant Energy), stored up in the metalliferous ores and igneous rocks, which have been formed in the subterranean heat. Here earthy matters are mixed up, but the radiant energy predominates in the composition of the metals. Aniruddha, a late Samkhya commentator, notes in reference to igneous bodies that the greater part of their mass is derived from the *earth-bhuta*, though the *tejas* particles determine the peculiar chemical combination, which produces them; and this must also be his view of the composition of the metals.
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4. *Ap* :—This viscous fluid of a *tetra-tanmatric* structure has but one pure example, viz, water, though the various organic acids, the juices of fruits and the saps of plants, are supposed to be transformations of watery radicles combined with different kinds of earthy accretions.
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5. Lastly, the *earth-bhuta*, the hard full-formed matter, with its *penta-tanmatric* atoms, comprises by far the majority of of the so-called chemical elements.
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The question is,—how does one and the same *bhuta*, of the same formal structure, comprise different kinds of elements, with different atomic masses and different characteristic properties? And the answer is not far to seek. The properties of a thing are only the energies that are manifested in the particular collocations of three *gunas*,—Mass, Energy and Essence; and a *tri-tanmatric* or a *penta-tanmatric* atom, i.e., an atom, composed of three or of five kinds of *tanmatras*, may differ from another of the same class, in respect of the number of constituent *tanmatras* of any particular kind, as also of their collocation or grouping, and, therefore, in mass as well as in generic and specific characters.
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The Samkhya-Patanjala conceives the properties (or energies) of substances to result from the grouping or the quanta of the *tanmatras*, or the *gunas* themselves, and hence any radical differences in substances of the same *bhuta* class must characterise their atoms, though in an infra-sensible form In the Nyaya-Vaiseshika, on the other hand, the atoms of the same *bhuta* class are alike in themselves, homogeneous; and the variety of substances, compounded under the same *bhuta*, is ascribed merely to the different arrangements or grouping of the atoms, and not of their components; for, components they have none.
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As a typical and familiar instance of the variety of characteristic properties (or energies) that may result from variations in accompaniment or grouping, the Samkhya-Patanjala points to the various kinds of fruit acids and juices, all originating from one and the same *bhuta* (water) with different accretions of earthy matters In the same way, though we speak of only five classes of *tanmatras* and atoms, the infinite variety of the world results from the infinitely varied collocations of the three original *gunas*, which underlie *tanmatra* and atom alike.
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Size (*pariman*).—As to size or volume, the Samkhya accepts only two kinds,—the infinitesimal, which is also without parts, and the non-infinitesimal, which consists of parts. The latter varies from the excessively small (the so-called *anus*, *tanmatras* and *paramanus*) to the infinitely great (e.g., *akasa*).
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The *gunas* alone are infinitesimal, with the exception of those ubiquitous ones that evolve into *akasa* atoms and Mind-stuff: all the rest of the evolved products (whether subtile or gross matter) are non-infinitesimal.
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Vijnana-bhikshu notes that all the *gunas* (Reals) cannot be ubiquitous If this were the case, that disturbance of equilibrium, that unequal aggregation with unequal stress and strain, with which cosmic evolution begins, would be impossible. The *gunas*, which give rise to *akasa* and Mind-stuff, must be held to be ubiquitous, and this will suffice for the ubiquity of *Prakriti*